ABSTRACT
The study investigated the social,
economic and psychological challenges of single parent family in Ijebu-Ode
Local Government Area of Ogun State. The study cross analyzed the degree of
these challenges among the respondents in the study area.
The descriptive approach was adopted for the
purpose data gathering. One hundred and forty seven was the sample that
responded to a questionnaire. The data gathered was analysed with the
statistical tool of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Mean and Standard Deviation.
The study revealed that single
parent families are vulnerable to social abuses such as being looked down upon,
approached by any man, not being fit to appear at social gathering, not
socially approved and do not wear a cheerful look. Again the study showed that
raising up children alone could be burdensome, they could be economically
unstable, face financial crises; though they tend to attract more benevolence. Findings
two also showed that only a handful of them live in ghettos.
The researcher however recommended
that parent should ensure that their children don’t always bear the brunt when
there is separation. Single parent
should not be looked down upon as they are part and parcel of the society. Laws
and policies should be made and formulated forbidding any man approach women
rudely.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgments iv-v
Abstract vi
Table
of contents vii-ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to
the study 1-6
1.2 Statement of the
problem 6
1.3 Purpose of the study 6
1.4 Research question: 6
1.5 Significance of the study 7
1.6 Definitions of terms 7-8
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND
CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS
2.1 An overview of
family 9-10
2.1.1 History
of the family 10-11
2.1.2 Economic
functions of family 11
2.1.3 Political functions of family 12-15
2.1.4 Sociological views 15-16
2.1.5 Types of family 17
2.1.6 Family structure 17-18
2.2 The prevalence of
single parent’s family:
evidence from Nigeria 19-22
2.3 Changes in family structure: evidence
from
single parent family 22-24
2.4 Modern families 24-28
2.5 Characteristics of single parents’
family:
evidence from economic situation in
Nigeria 29-36
2.6
Appraisal of literature review 37
CHAPTER THREE:
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction 38
3.2
Research design and procedure 38
3.3. Population of the study 38
3.4 Sample and sampling
techniques 39-42
3.5 Research instrument 42
3.6 Reliability and validity 42-43
3.7 Method of data analysis 43
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION
AND ANALYSES
4.1 Introduction 44
4.2 Data analysis 44-58
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 59
5.2 Conclusion 60
5.3 Recommendations 61-62
References 63-65
Appendix 66-68
CHAPTER
ONE
1.1 Background to the Study
In May 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle
suggested that a breakdown of the nuclear family was among the causes of recent
riots in Los Angeles in which over fifty people had died. “I believe the
lawless social anarchy which we saw is directly related to the breakdown of
family structure, personal responsibility and social order in too many areas of
our society,” Quayle remarked. He went on to criticize society’s increasingly
permissive attitude toward out-of-wedlock childbearing, pointing specifically
to the treatment of the issue in the television sitcom Murphy Brown. “It
doesn’t help matters when prime time TV has Murphy Brown—a character who
supposedly epitomizes today’s intelligent, highly paid, professional
woman—mocking the importance of fathers by bearing a child alone and calling it
just another ‘lifestyle choice.’”
Quayle’s speech, especially his
reference to Murphy Brown, provoked an outpouring of commentary. Numerous
Americans agreed with Quayle, expressing concern that the “traditional family”
and “family values” were being undermined by a public morality that too readily
condoned unwed motherhood and divorce. Many also agreed with Quayle’s argument
that the media and popular culture were to blame for promoting loose sexual
values and immoral lifestyles.
Others took exception to Quayle’s
statements. Some, seeing his speech as a moralistic attack on single mothers,
responded by insisting that most single mothers work hard to provide for their
children and to raise them well. Others considered Quayle’s view of the
traditional family as nostalgic and unrealistic, out of touch with the social
and economic realities of life in contemporary America. The character Murphy
Brown, played by actress Candice Bergen, directly responded to Quayle in a
subsequent episode of the show. In words that doubtlessly resonated with many
Americans, she declared, “Perhaps it’s time for the vice president to expand
his definition [of family] and recognize that whether by choice or circumstance
families come in all shapes and sizes. And ultimately, what really defines a
family is commitment, caring and love.”
The intensity of the public reaction
to Quayle’s speech suggests that his comments touched on an issue of concern to
a large number of people. Indeed, many commentators have expressed alarm about
the increase in single-parent families over the past four decades. In 1960,
they point out; 5.8 million American children lived in single-parent families;
by 1996 that number had risen to 18 million. This growth has been fueled by an
increasing rate of out-of-wedlock childbearing. In 1960, 5.3 percent of
American babies were born to unwed mothers; that rate has increased to 30
percent. These numbers are even higher for African Americans: As of 1992, 68
percent of African American babies were born to unmarried women. A rising
divorce rate has also contributed to the growing number of single-parent
families. The U.S. divorce rate rose nearly 250 percent between 1960 and 1980;
it then leveled off at what is now the highest rate in the industrialized
world. It is commonly noted that about half of the marriages undertaken today
will end in divorce.
Much of the debate over
single-parent families focuses on how these trends affect children. Many social
scientists contend that children raised in single-parent homes are more likely
to experience a variety of problems than are children raised in two-parent
homes
Family this is seen as the social
group whose members are related by ancestry, marriage or adoption and who live
together, cooperate economically and care for the young (Murdock.1998).
Family is also seen as a group
of individuals related
by to one
another by blood
ties, marriage or adoption who form an economic unit, the adult members
are responsible for the upbringing of
children (Giddens, 1997).
Types of family relationships are
always recognized within wider kinship groups. In virtually all societies we
can identify what sociologists and anthropologist call the nuclear family two
adults living together in a household with their own or adopted children.
Extended
family may include grand parents, brothers and their wives, sisters and their
husbands, aunts and nephews.
Single parent
families can be defined as families where a parent
lives with dependent children, either alone or in a larger household, without a
spouse or partner. There was a rapid and drastic increase in the number of
single-parent families in the latter half of the twentieth century. This change
has been used by some to argue that we are witnessing the breakdown of the
family (defined as a married couple residing with their dependent offspring)
with negative effects for children, families, and society (Popenoe 1996).
Types of single parent families are generally categorized by the sex of the
custodial parent (mother-only or father-only families).
Mother-only
families include widows, divorced and separated women, and never-married
mothers. In the case of divorce, mothers are usually given custody in the
United States and other developed countries. In Italy, in 1997, for example, 90
percent of children whose parents divorced went into the custody of their
mothers. Since the vast majority of single parents are mothers, most of the
research focuses on female-headed families. However, regardless of sex, single
parents share similar problems and challenges (Grief 1985).
Father- only families formed as
a result of widowhood, desertion by the mother, or wives refusing custody. The
increase in father-only families is due, in part, to the efforts of fathers to
obtain custody of their children. Factors supporting their transition into
primary parenthood include financial security, prior involvement in housework
and child care during the marriage, satisfaction with child-care arrangements,
and a shared sense of responsibility for the marital breakup (Grief 1985).
1.2
Statement of the Problem
The problem of this study is to find
out the most urgent problem that now faces the single parent families. These
problems which include social, psychological, Economic
and financial problems.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
This study will
specifically examine the challenges facing the single parent families in terms
of social, Economic and psychological needs.
1.4 Research question:
These following questions will be
tackled in the process of this research
1.
What are the social challenges of single
parent family?
2.
What are the economic challenges of single
parent family?
3.
What are the psychological challenges
facing single parent family?
4.
Is there any significant difference in the
challenges of single parent as perceived by the respondent based on their age
group, academic qualification and occupation?
1.5 Significance of the study
The
essence of this research is to know the parent and
children's standard of living in single parent families in ijebu-ode local government.
1.6 Definitions of terms
Family: The social group, whose
members are related by ancestry, Blood, Marriage, or and who live together, cooperate Economically and Care for the
young once.
Single parent: A parent lives with dependent children, either alone or in a larger household,
without a spouse or partner.
Nuclear
family: Two adults living together in a household with their own
or Adopted children.
Extended family: These
are grand parents, brothers and their wives, sisters And
Their\husbands, aunts and nephews.
Mothers only families: The widows divorced and
separated women, and Never-Married
mothers.
Fathers only families: Widowhood, desertion by the mother, or wives Refusing Custody.
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